In 2018, a New York Times reporter toured a glitter factory in New Jersey and asked what seemed like a harmless question: “Who buys the most glitter?” The answer was anything but ordinary. The Glitterex manager refused to say. Not because they didn’t know — but because, in their words, “they don’t want anyone to know it’s glitter.” And with that, the internet lost its collective mind.
In this episode, the boys peel back the shimmering layers of what quickly became one of the strangest modern conspiracy theories: the hunt for the secret glitter buyer. Reddit exploded. TikTok sleuths drew diagrams. Theories ranged from toothpaste companies and luxury automakers to the U.S. military, currency printers, and even God himself. The clues were cryptic: you’d “see something,” but never recognize it as glitter. So… was it hiding in your dollar bill? Your kid’s vitamins? A classified aircraft?
We explore every angle of this real-world mystery — including the 2019 podcast (Endless Thread) that claimed to solve it, naming the marine paint industry as the main culprit. Boats, ships, and jet skis use enormous amounts of metallic pigment, and it turns out that glitter might be secretly keeping cruise liners shimmering in salty seas. But is that too obvious? Or just the answer they want us to believe?
We also break down the numbers: the global glitter industry is worth up to $1.49 billion, with biodegradable glitter surging past $500 million and expected to triple in the next decade. There are 20,000+ types of glitter, some so small they count as microplastics — which is exactly why the EU banned loose glitter in 2023. Meanwhile, edible glitter alone is a $551 million market, and glitter glue is closing in on half a billion itself.
This episode isn’t just about sparkle — it’s about secrecy, industry weirdness, and why we’re drawn to mysteries hiding in plain sight. So whether it’s a cover-up, a marketing ploy, or a perfectly polished coincidence, join us as we unravel the conspiracy… one shimmering clue at a time.
